Dragon
by RavenWolfy
Summary: This is a dream I had that was WAY to vivid to be a dream. Still needs some work, but it's an interesting read.


**DRAGON**

Dara's mother handed her the pile of photos they had just finished taking with her family. Dara sat at the picnic table in the courtyard and glared at the stack. The instructions were clear: filter out the bad ones. This was a daunting task as there were quite a few of them. Sighing, Dara started flipping through the stack.  
Big family photo, mom, her sister, her brother Raize, Amanda and her husband, her youngest brother, Raize and a young boy she had never seen before. Dara stopped at this photo. He clearly had the short sandy hair just like her brother had when he was younger. Amanda's baby wasn't born yet, much less grown to maybe eight. Dara put the picture aside and continued through the stack. More cousins she recognized playing cards, her parents, herself, Kristofer and herself, grandparents, an older girl this time. Dara tilted her head. She flipped the picture over. Her mother had already labeled this one: Molly.  
We don't have a Molly in our family, Dara thought to herself. She flipped the photo back over. Black curled hair, regal features. The weirdest part was the photo was in black and white whereas the rest were in color. Weren't they all taken with the same two cameras? Had someone slipped an older photo in the stack. It was definitely her mom's handwriting. She'd seen it enough to know.  
Shuffling through the photos she found the big family photo again. Dara scanned row by row for this Molly. The newest edition to her cousins was Amanda's husband. Right next to her brother she found the little boy again. Dara looked from one to the other. They were definitely related. The boy was standing between her brother Raize and his girlfriend Christine. Maybe Raize knew him. Dara made a mental note to ask him about it and continued searching the photo.  
She found Molly standing right between Kristofer and herself. No that can't have been right. She had been standing next to Kristofer. His arm had been around her waist and everything. Shaking her head, Dara rose from the picnic table to go find her mother and ask her who this Molly was. She turned and ran into someone, dropping all the photos on the ground.  
Sorry, she said automatically and began picking the pictures up off the ground.  
Sokay, Dara looked up to see the boy in front of her. His eyes were an intense green, his hair the same sandy brown as the photo.  
Hey, who are you? she asked mostly because she couldn't help herself.  
James. Don't you remember me Dara? I... Oh good you found him. Dara's attention shifted to her brother who was coming to join them at the picnic table.  
Found who? My kid. Who else? Your... kid... Yeah, this is my son, James. Remember? Dara blinked looking from one to the other. Finally she stood shaking her head. Raize and Christine hadn't been together anymore than a year and she was definitely not pregnant.  
Well I guess you did just meet him here, so I'm not surprised. Maybe. Come on we gotta get out of here. There was urgency in his voice. Why was there urgency in his voice? Dara looked around her. There was no one. The pavilion had been cleared. Everyone must have gone into the house.  
I think you're room is upstairs, right? Dara nodded, still confused. It wasn't until they left the pavilion that she felt 'something' behind her. Looking back, she saw something that simply didn't belong. On the edge of the table she'd been sitting at a thick red and black residue was left all over the top of the table. Even odder was the large claw that quickly unlocked itself from the dent it had made in the side of the wooden table. Dara blinked to try and comprehend what she was seeing. When her eyes came back into focus nothing was there.  
Come on Dara. We need you. Dara followed her brother into the house and up to her room.  
I'm going to take James down to the basement and get him some dinner. We'll meet you there when you're ready. Can do. Dara scanned the room when he shut the door behind him. Bed, dresser, desk, she knew this room. Why did she feel so out of place? The dress, it had to be the dress she'd put on for the picture. She pulled a pair of jeans and a t-shirt out of her bag.  
She'd barely zipped up her pants when she same uneasiness as the pavilion. The sane voice in her head telling her it wasn't threatening. Still, the air was thick in here. The guest room had always been oppressive, mostly due to the face that it was her grandfather's study.  
The door. Something was on the other side of the door. Placing her hand on the wooden frame she could feel the chill that came through from the other side. Dara backed away quickly. There was no other way out of the room.  
Glancing at the window she saw the same claws as she had at the table. It was reaching through the wrought iron cage design on the window. She froze. The claws were trying to get to the glass inches away from the bar but it was too big to fit through the largest hole in the floral design. Leathery wings hid the rest of the thing's body. Whatever it was, it was big and dark.  
Turning, Dara grabbed the door handle and jerked. The door wouldn't budge. It wasn't locked. The lock was on the inside with her. The image that burned itself into her brain from the other side she was not prepared for. Physically the door had not opened but Dara could see out the doorway and into the hallway. She had no explanation for her vision it simply was.  
Outside her office-bedroom there was a three way split. One door belonging to her, one to the other guest room and the third to the upstairs bathroom. In the hallway connecting them was a black and red dragon. It wasn't as large as what she had just seen outside, but she could tell it was the same. It's tail curled around itself to stretch in front of the door. If it opened out, she would not have been able to move it. Wait this was her grandparent's house, the door did open out, she thought in defeat. That was why she was locked in.  
With her realization, the dragon moved. On all fours it made a slow turn to get to the stairs. It looked impossible for it's size, but the dragon's tail stayed in front of the door even though it's body was moving away.  
Dara blinked and the vision faded. She was back to seeing the door wood and her hand, still on the handle.  
What does it want? Dara thought. But there was no open connection... to anything.  
Brother? She tried. Still, there was nothing. James? Nothing.  
But why would there be, she hadn't spoken to her brother in months... or years... she didn't even know who the mother of his kid was.  
Without warning she had an intense need to get down to the basement: to get to her brother. Where was Kristofer? Did anyone else see this dragon. It was very large and apparent in the hallway. Even those that couldn't see into the ethereal realm would feel it's presence. Dara shook her head. No one in her family had the ability to see anything that wasn't fully in the physical realm. Still, the dragon was very prominent. How was she getting out of the room?  
Kristofer. Of course. If the dragon wasn't there, she could open the door.  
Go away, she said, envisioning the hallway clear as it should be.  
Dara tried the door once more and it thrilled her to find that it worked. Breathing a sigh of relief she stepped out of the room. As soon as she was out, she felt the room pull her back in like a magnet on her gut. She found herself stepping backwards into the room without realizing what she'd done.  
What the hell? She needed to relax. Breathing she tried to calm her pounding heart. The problem now wasn't the dragon, it was the room. Sparks of color appeared next to her and Dara backed away from the door. Looking down the hallway she saw the same red and black haze that had preceded the dragon before. This time it was accompanied by a very low growling. From around the corner the dragon's lizard-like tail whipped up and hit the ground. It looked like it should have shaken the ground, but all she felt was the energy move down the hallway.  
The energy reverberated on everything but stilled when it reached the room. She could see the room clearly now. The air was so thick because there was three different shields on the walls. Now that the force of the dragon's tail had hit it, the colors were coming out.  
Dara could see her own on the bottom. A basic wall of yellow air energy made simply to guard both herself and Kristofer from anything. It acted as a warning system better than it did a shield, but it was supposed to be temporary since they were only to be here a week. On top of that was a blue/green shield. Kristofer's. She hadn't seen him put it up formally, but it was definitely his. The remnants of his circle he had used as a base was still on the wall to her right, though the symbol inside had faded.  
The third shield was made to keep out everything. This one consisted of astral energy thick enough to choke her. It was made for her protection, not to harm her. Dara ran her fingers over the door jam in wonder. She hadn't seen this done last night. It bothered her that she hadn't seen it at all.  
I want to go to my brother. The intense urge to get to him was still gnawing at the back of her head. She needed to find Kristofer and could not explain the sudden knowledge that he was downstairs with her brother and James. Dara's fingers curled into fists. The dragon was blocking her way again. She wasn't afraid of it at the moment, but she knew it wasn't going to let her get downstairs.  
At the thought, she caught the image of a grin and immediately knew it was from the dragon. It moved forward around the corner at the end of the hallway where it had been hiding. It looked like it was half crawling on all fours, but trying to stand up on the back two legs. The hallway simply wouldn't allow it because the dragon was larger than it looked. Still, the wings attempted to uncurl and she knew the metallic black and red leather was impressive.  
I said. Go away, Dara demanded.  
The dragon tried to raise it's head from the ground. It's teeth opened slightly, it emitted a low growl. The same as before.  
I'm going to my brother and Kristofer and you will not stop me. Faster than she could comprehend, the dragon was at the doorway. It's front claws supporting it as it tried to use the cracking door frame to stand on it's back legs. It's neck came forward.  
Dara took a steadying breath and forced herself not to backpedal. She knew her heart was racing and she could feel her own aura betraying her blatant fear. The shield would hold.  
The dragon could not extend it's neck into the room. The growling continued and it's wings came down to conceal it's body. The red and back mist that had been emanating from it now pulled in tight to surround it. She watched the dragon turn awkwardly in the small hallway and go back down towards the stairs.  
It disappeared around the corner and she felt another sudden chill. Dara stood in almost disbelief as a silvery blue and white greywolf rounded the corner the dragon had just gone around.  
What? Dara knelt so she was eye to eye with the wolf. It was tentative as it came down the hallway, sniffing at the floorboards like it was looking for something. The eyes were intense but still curious. Once it got to her door way it sniffed at the claw marks on the wood and looked directly at her.  
Move now.  
The command was obvious and forceful enough to move Dara's feet for her. She moved from the bedroom to the bathroom nearest the stairs. Here she paused waiting. She was outside the shield now, but rounding that corner was not something she looked forward to. Breathing she leaned against the wall beside the open door. The wolf blinked at her again and then lifted its head suddenly looking down the hallway. Dara caught the urgency in his aura. An entire change of his being and at the same time there was a tremor in the air. The dragon was coming back.  
Stop shaking, the wolf told herself. Still as she breathed she could tell the whole hallway was filled with the black and red mist. It was pulling energy from everywhere and draining things in it's path. Only the wolf and her room seemed unaffected. The wolf sniffed at the crack in the door and stepped into the bathroom. It's bright white and blue aura now cutting through the thickness of the air and allowing her to relax. It's safe. Follow me.  
Dara fought the urge not to laugh. Safe with wolf. Of course she was. She followed the wolf as he lead her from the bathroom and trotted down the hallway as if there was nothing there. His aura cut through the darkness and allowed her to think straight. The magnetic pull of the room was completely gone as if it had never been there. Still, looking behind her she could clearly see the layers of blue, green, yellow and silver that had kept the dragon out.  
The wolf turned the corner without hesitation. Dara paused. She didn't know what was on the other side of the corner that lead to the living room and then the basement. The wolf came back around to look at her, half his body hidden by a wall.  
To the guys, Dara said more for herself than to the wolf.  
The wolf gave no indication that she was speaking to it anyway. He just turned and disappeared behind the corner. Taking another breath Dara followed. She fully expected to come face to face with the dragon once more. But there was only the wolf.  
It simply stood to the side of the open basement door across the living room from her. Dara crossed the living room. She petted the wolf in thanks. It's fur was softer than anything she'd ever felt. Dara, you shouldn t be down here, Raize said when he saw here descending the stairs towards them.  
Didn't you ask me to come? There was no other way to explain the intense urge she'd had to come down here.  
I suppose I did, Raize sighed. But now you are outside the shield I made. You are vulnerable to attack from him. Who is he? she demanded.  
Her brother gave her no answer. He slid a bowl towards James. Kris give me the milk. He held out his hand.  
Kristofer held up the empty milk container. All out. Damn it. Dara give me the milk, this time he point to the refrigerator behind her.  
No. Explain yourself. Dara crossed her arms over her chest and fought the urge to stomp her feet.  
Dara it doesn't matter, Kris said. Get the milk and come have some cereal. You know? Kristofer shrugged eating another spoonful of something. Nope. Reluctantly Dara grabbed the milk out of the refrigerator and poured herself a bowl of cereal.  
Do you not understand what went into that shield? Raize asked.  
I don't understand why you would put a shield on the room on top of Kristofer's but thank you, Dara responded.  
You aren't safe here. I gathered that. What does it want? There are four of us now Raize, Kristofer said. It won't get in. I appreciate your confidence. But Dara here has effectively made the basement a jail cell. What about everyone else? Kristofer asked before Dara had a chance to form a coherent sentence in her defense.  
Don't worry. They are gone. It's just us. Raize answered both of them.  
Gone? How? When? Dara finally started.  
Dara. Raize interrupted. It doesn't matter. He pointed behind her to the sliding glass door that lead to the lowered wood patio behind the house.  
Dara turned to look and tried not to jump out of her skin. The tail was the same, curled around human legs this time. The barefoot male stood at almost seven feet in a thick black tunic with shoulder length silver hair. But the most impressive part was the massive wingspan of those incredible leathery wings. It took a moment for Dara to realize he was actually knocking on the glass door.  
You can't come in, Kristofer said not even switching his attention away from his cereal.  
The low growl sounded once more. Dara watched the dragon step backwards and wave his hand, with it the door opened.  
No, Dara said waving her hand in the opposite direction. The sliding glass door that had just opened stayed open, but he screen door attached slammed shut for her.  
The dragon's eyes narrowed. Dara could still see the red fire from before glowing there. He slid the screen door open and Dara shut it again.  
Close the glass door, Raize offered.  
Right. Dara wasn't going to tell him she had been trying to close the glass door, not just the screen door. I'll need some help. Raize grinned and held out his hand. Dara felt the power in the room increase. Just that simple he had opened himself up as a port so she could use his energy.  
Thank you. Dara connected to him easily. He was her brother after all. With Raize's help she was able to close the glass door as well as the screen door.  
James laughed at her. One door isn't going to stop that is it dad? Nope, but for now it'll work. Sure enough the dragon growled once more and stalked up the patio stairs to get to the backyard.  
Be careful what you teach him, the dragon hissed in her brain. Dara felt like thunder had hit her skull.  
Teach who? She bit back.  
Kristofer.  
Dara stopped clutching her head, the pain of his thundering voice gone for the moment. She hadn't realized she put her head on the counter. It felt like her body was becoming lethargic.  
No Kristofer, she said.  
I'm here Dara. He's not getting in. Kristofer's hand rubbed her back. The connection was enough. Dara nodded.  
Finish your cereal Dara, Raize said pushing her bowl towards her.  
Again Dara nodded, taking the spoon almost mechanically. Two bites in she heard the voice again.  
Be careful what you teach Kristofer.  
Dara jumped, dropping her spoon.  
Dara, we won't win this power struggle. Be calm, Raize said.  
Calm? You want me to be calm when... Dara turned, swallowing. The door was wide open and the dragon was no where in sight.  
He's in here somewhere. Just be calm. Raize was putting James' and his own cereal bowl in the sink. I'm going upstairs to make sure there's no other outlets. I will be back in a minute. Dara nodded. Kristofer had washed his bowl and was placing his own circles around the basement walls. Breathing deeply Dara polished the last few bites of her cereal and moved to the sink.  
He can't know. The voice of the dragon came again as soon as the water came on. Dara dropped the bowl in the sink.  
She froze when she saw a hand reach in the sink and pick up the bowl. That was not Kristofer's energy next to her. Even worse she could feel that Kristofer had moved into the next room of the basement. Dara knew what was standing next to her but she couldn't move.  
I haven't taught him anything that would get him in trouble.  
Not yet.  
Dara closed her eyes for a moment to try and stop the pounding in her head.  
Not planning on it.  
Oh yes you are.  
Dara opened her mouth to try and call Kristofer or her brother. No sound came out. This dragon was simply standing next to her washing her bowl out. When he was finished he picked up the dish towel, dried it and placed it on the rack with the others.  
Who are you?  
Be careful what you teach him Dara.  
What can't I teach him? She didn't know anything that would get Kristofer in trouble.  
Yes you do.  
Dara backed away. He wasn't just speaking to her, he was in her head, sorting through her various knowledge. But he wasn't pinpointing anything. He was taking.  
Kristofer! She knew she had yelled it. Yet she got no answer. He was only in the next room He can't help you now. There's nothing to help you with.  
What do I not teach him? She demanded.  
Be careful what he learns. Now he was speaking clearly.


End file.
